Monday, 27 January 2014
Update
I haven't made a new post in a while, primarily because I have finished my course. However I still enjoy the concept of studying language and when the mood takes me I will write a post. I think this will be once every month or so. This will be primarily for my own enjoyment as I think the main readership for this is computer bots!
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Why reem and omishambles have more in common than you might think...
We as humans have a lot of emotions. Happy, sad, angry,shocked...the list goes on. One of the problems of having such complex feelings is trying to put them into words. Take happy for example. This covers the simple pleasure of talking to a friend to the ecstatic screams of someone who has just been proposed to. Anger covers the miffed to the furious . Emotions are often abstract nouns, we feel them and to some extent can see them by someone's exterior actions or expression but if you haven't experienced them there is no way to describe them.
Therefore when a new word comes along to describe something more definitively its no wonder we latch onto it. Steven Fry in his series Planet Word pointed out that by having a wider vocabulary we can pin point how we feel, therefore allowing others to understand the pragmatics. If you were to look at urban dictionary almost every variation of emotion is covered. The feeling after days of walking on a DofE walk is named as a "DofE hangover" for example. We create new words to describe things like bitter sweet.
Reem may make some of us cringe, the basic "ee" noise elongated like some animal squawk. But it has its place in the lexis as long as it is said by its users. Its not too genetic, whilst one may say that a pair of shoes or a new phone was "reem" good exam results or an interesting tweet is unlikely to be tagged so. Its probably wont over take good anytime soon but it covers what its user wants to convey. The same as omnishambles does. When we find a word that exactly covers what we mean, the bittersweet words. It doesn't matter where they come from, as long as they are understood.
Therefore when a new word comes along to describe something more definitively its no wonder we latch onto it. Steven Fry in his series Planet Word pointed out that by having a wider vocabulary we can pin point how we feel, therefore allowing others to understand the pragmatics. If you were to look at urban dictionary almost every variation of emotion is covered. The feeling after days of walking on a DofE walk is named as a "DofE hangover" for example. We create new words to describe things like bitter sweet.
Reem may make some of us cringe, the basic "ee" noise elongated like some animal squawk. But it has its place in the lexis as long as it is said by its users. Its not too genetic, whilst one may say that a pair of shoes or a new phone was "reem" good exam results or an interesting tweet is unlikely to be tagged so. Its probably wont over take good anytime soon but it covers what its user wants to convey. The same as omnishambles does. When we find a word that exactly covers what we mean, the bittersweet words. It doesn't matter where they come from, as long as they are understood.
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Sesquipedalians unite
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-22765498
The longest word in the German language "Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz" has been removed. What does this mean for the future of other languages and their long words?
The longest word in the German language "Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz" has been removed. What does this mean for the future of other languages and their long words?
Saturday, 1 June 2013
Children and their written lexis
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22714629
BBC magazine.
Children under thirteens entries to a competition, the lexis that they use has been analysed in detail. Worth reading.
BBC magazine.
Children under thirteens entries to a competition, the lexis that they use has been analysed in detail. Worth reading.
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Stephen Pinker and language
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-son3EJTrU
^ Language as a window into human nature.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir7arILiqxg
^ CLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKbp4hEHV-s
^ Language pragmatics
^ Language as a window into human nature.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir7arILiqxg
^ CLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKbp4hEHV-s
^ Language pragmatics
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Euphemisms
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22545351
Looking at euphemisms and how they come about. BBC magazine has collected the best of what readers have sent in. Its worth looking at the original article as well, most stem from the Private Eye ( "tired and emotional")....
Looking at euphemisms and how they come about. BBC magazine has collected the best of what readers have sent in. Its worth looking at the original article as well, most stem from the Private Eye ( "tired and emotional")....
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